Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Irish Sea

(Encyclopedia)Irish Sea, arm of the Atlantic Ocean, c.40,000 sq mi (103,600 sq km), 130 mi (209 km) long and up to c.140 mi (230 km) wide, lying between Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected with the Atlantic ...

Anstey, F.

(Encyclopedia)Anstey, F., pseud. of Thomas Anstey Guthrie, 1856–1934, English author. He relinquished his law practice to write humorous fiction. His best and most successful works are marked by an atmosphere of ...

Epictetus

(Encyclopedia)Epictetus ĕpĭktēˈtəs [key], c.a.d. 50–c.a.d. 138, Phrygian Stoic philosopher. He wrote nothing, but his teachings were set down by his disciple Arrian in the Discourses and the Encheiridion. Ep...

Achelous, in Greek mythology

(Encyclopedia)Achelous ăkˌəlōˈəs [key], in Greek mythology, river god; son of Oceanus and Tethys. He possessed the power to appear as a bull, a serpent, or a bullheaded man. Hercules defeated him and broke of...

Nazarite

(Encyclopedia)Nazarite năzˈərītˌ [key] [Heb. nazir=consecrated], in the Bible, a man dedicated to God. The Nazarite, after taking a special vow, abstained from intoxicating beverages, never cut his hair, and a...

Manu'a

(Encyclopedia)Manu'a mäno͞oˈä [key], island group and district (2010 pop. 1,143) of American Samoa comprising Ta'u, Ofu, and Olosega islands, with a total area of 22 sq mi (57 sq km). According to Samoan tradit...

Map, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Map or Mapes, Walter, c.1140–c.1210, English author, b. Wales. A favorite of Henry II, he traveled with the king and became archdeacon of Oxford. The one work indubitably his, De nugis curialium [co...

Bruyn, Barthel Bartholomaeus

(Encyclopedia)Bruyn, Barthel Bartholomaeus bärˈtəl bärˌtōlōmāˈo͞os broin [key], 1493–1555, German Renaissance painter, active in Cologne from 1515. Known especially for his portraits, which combine Nort...

Burke, Kenneth Duva

(Encyclopedia)Burke, Kenneth Duva, 1897–1993, American critic, b. Pittsburgh, Pa. He was music critic for The Dial (1927–29) and The Nation (1934–36). A profound thinker whose writings have influenced other c...

Cardigan, James Thomas Brudenell, 7th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Cardigan, James Thomas Brudenell, 7th earl of, 1797–1868, British general. In the Crimean War he led the disastrous cavalry charge at Balaklava (1854) that Tennyson immortalized in The Charge of the...

Browse by Subject